This is a SERCA to support the scientific development of Dr. A. Michele Schuler, an Assistant Professor in the Department of Comparative Medicine at the University of South Alabama. Dr. Schuler received her B.S. in Animal Bioscience at Penn State University in 1993, her D.V.M. from Auburn University in 1997, and her Ph.D. from the ACLAM-accredited postdoctoral fellowship/Ph.D. program in Molecular and Cellular Pathology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham in 2003. The overall goal of the project described in this application is to optimize assisted reproductive technologies in neotropical primates with the ultimate goal of developing embryonic stem cell lines from these species. Dr. Schuler has assembled a panel of well established investigators (Dr. Jonathan Scammell and Dr. Botros Rizk at the University of South Alabama;Dr. Christian R. Abee at MD Anderson Cancer Center, Bastrop, TX;Dr. Donald Wolf and Dr. Mary Zelinski- Wooten at Oregon National Primate Research Center;Dr. Thomas Kuehl at Scott and White Hospital, Temple, TX;and Dr. Anthony Chan at Emory University, Atlanta, GA) who have developed a detailed training program for the applicant. The specific aims of the project are: (1) To determine the best strategy for ovarian stimulation and oocyte collection in squirrel monkeys and owl monkeys;(2) To determine the optimal method for intra-cytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) and/or in vitro fertilization (IVF) in squirrel and owl monkeys including optimal culture techniques for oocytes and embryos;(3) To optimize conditions for retrieval of in vivo-derived blastocysts by uterine flushing;(4) To develop embryonic stem cell lines from squirrel monkeys and owl monkeys. This application takes advantage of the unique environment of the Center for Neotropical Primate Research and Resources (CNPRR) at USA and is responsive to programmatic objectives outlined in the National Center for Research Resources 2004-2008 Strategic Plan.